Several states are enacting or considering laws designed to improve living conditions for farm-raised poultry.

Written by

the USA Today Editorial Board

Granted, it's easy to make jokes about people pushing "rights" for chickens. But there's nothing funny about cruelty - which includes forcing egg-laying hens to spend their entire lives in spaces so tiny they are barely able to turn around or spread their wings.

That's why several states are demanding modest changes. We're not talking "egg McMansions," as comedian Stephen Colbert joked. Just enough space so hens can act, well, more like chickens. ...